Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Salem Main Library | J Moskowitz, H. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | J Fic Moskowitz, H. 2011 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stayton Public Library | JF MOSKOWITZ | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Wil is desperate for his older brother to come back from the dead. But the thing about zombies is . . they don't exactly make the best siblings.
Thirteen-year-old Wil Lowenstein copes with his brother's death by focusing on Zombie Tag, a mafia/capture the flag hybrid game where he and his friends fight off brain-eating zombies with their mothers' spatulas. What Wil doesn't tell anybody is that if he could bring his dead brother back as a zombie, he would in a heartbeat. But when Wil finds a way to summon all the dead within five miles, he's surprised to discover that his back-from-the-dead brother is emotionless and distant.
In her first novel for younger readers, Moskowitz offers a funny and heartfelt look at how one boy deals with change, loss, and the complicated relationship between brothers.
Author Notes
Hannah Moskowitz is the author of Invincible Summer and Break, an ALA popular paperback for Young Adults. Hannah's YA novels were sold at auction the same day she began her freshman year of college. Zombie Tag is her first middle grade novel.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Ever since his older brother's death earlier this year, 12-year-old Wil's coping strategy has been to escape with his friends into Zombie Tag, a game in which the "zombie" tries to capture the other players and eat their brains before they can find the hidden object and escape with it. Of course, he knows (or thinks he knows) that zombies don't really eat people's brains: he has scoured the Internet to piece together information on the zombie awakening of 30 years ago that the government still denies happened. From his research, he knows that some kind of bell woke the dead all those years ago, and that it has been hidden in a top-secret place so that an awakening can never happen again. When his friend Anthony lets slip that his father is the keeper of this Wake-Up Bell, Wil is determined to find it and bring Graham back to life. He is ultimately successful, but having his older brother back isn't at all what he expected, and he finds that it is lonelier with Zombie Graham than it was without him. Moskowitz keeps readers guessing as to how Wil ultimately comes to terms with his situation. The efforts of Wil and his parents to cope first with Graham's death and then with his reappearance are a major thread in the story. While Moskowitz's characters are fully formed and believable, it's never quite clear whether the author's going for laughs or poignancy, and ultimately, the result falls a little flat. Still, this unique twist on zombie stories will engage readers who are looking for contemporary fiction sprinkled with a dash of the morbid.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this moving, thought-provoking tale-YA author Moskowitz's (Invincible Summer) first for middle-grade readers-she explores the complexities of grief and acceptance through an extended zombie metaphor. Twelve-year-old Wil Lowenstein, is still getting over the recent sudden death of his older brother, Graham. To distract himself, he throws himself into a game he's invented called Zombie Tag, which he and his friends play in secret (this is also a world in which zombie attacks have been a past threat). When Wil discovers a magic bell supposedly capable of raising the dead, he tries it out and succeeds, bringing back Graham and dozens more. But the zombies aren't what Wil expected: they aren't mindless, brain-eating monsters, but they are all but incapable of emotion. It's up to Wil to decide his brother's fate. While whimsical in its concept, the book's tone and theme are quite serious, and Wil's emotional spectrum, including alienation, denial, depression, and anger, will be familiar to anyone struggling with loss. Although the book's message isn't subtle, the characters are sympathetic, and their losses are deeply felt. Ages 9-12. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Wil would do anything to bring back his brother, Graham, who died during an asthma attack. When Wil discovers a bell that revives (but then destroys) the dead, he rings it with unexpected results. Zombie-Graham returns, but as an emotionless shell of his former self. Wil's realistic struggle with loss anchors this sometimes absurd yet funny and honest exploration of grief. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
(Paranormal fiction. 10-13)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Six months ago, 12-year-old Wil lost his older brother, Graham, to a severe respiratory attack. While at his friend Anthony's house playing zombie tag a pretty cool game Wil and Graham made up that simulates a zombie invasion Wil discovers a secret artifact hidden by Anthony's father: a bell that supposedly raised a group of the dead 30 years ago. Wil steals it and gives it a go, and presto: 70 local dead people rise from their graves. Graham is among them, and his family is thrilled to see him. But he's different now, so emotionless and cold that Wil begins to wonder if he's made a horrible mistake. Moskowitz's latest is nearly unclassifiable by genre and that's much of the charm. Is this contemporary fiction? Fantasy? Horror? What's more, Moskowitz deftly swerves between comedy, pathos, and even terror, and makes it look so effortless readers won't think twice about the strangeness of the mix. There are a few plot bumps near the end, but the surprising amount of heart and wistfulness behind this will carry readers through.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist